Ken Schrader poses with the pole award after qualifying first for the inaugural Mudsummer Classic Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway. / Tom Pennington, Getty Images

by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

by Jeff Gluck, USA TODAY Sports

ROSSBURG, Ohio - Austin Dillon was the first driver to test a NASCAR Truck at Eldora Speedway. He was the first driver on the track for Tuesday's practice session. And on Wednesday night, he became the first driver to win a Camping World Truck Series race on dirt.

Dillon held off Kyle Larson and Ryan Newman on a green-white-checkered restart to win the inaugural Mudsummer Classic, NASCAR's first dirt race since 1970.

The trucks put on a fantastic show complete with fender-banging, side-by-side racing and slide jobs - and Dillon survived it all.

A former Truck Series champion and the grandson of six-time championship owner Richard Childress, Dillon used his extensive dirt-racing experience - he frequently dirt-races in his spare time - to stay ahead of Larson, another dirt ace.

"It's amazing, man," Dillon said after climbing from his car. "I love this dirt racing. It's so much fun. â?¦ This is real racing right here."

Larson had the best car of the night and was cruising in the lead until he suddenly found himself battling lapped traffic during the second of three segments. Larson made contact with the left rear of German Quiroga, and Dillon took advantage by taking the lead.

A caution for debris moments later meant Dillon was able to restart in the top position instead of getting passed back by Larson. Because Larson had to start on the inside line - a disadvantage - Dillon was able to briefly get away.

Larson was never able to catch up, though the two raced side-by-side for several laps while battling for the lead.

"We had the best truck for sure," Larson said. "I just got overly excited in lapped traffic and got into the back of somebody and Austin got by."

*****

10:48 p.m. - With 40 laps to go in NASCAR's Mudsummer Classic - its first dirt race in 43 years - Austin Dillon and his No. 39 truck are leading heading into the final segment.

In the second segment, Kyle Larson was cruising until he suddenly found himself battling lapped traffic. Larson made contact with the left rear of German Quiroga, and Dillon took advantage by taking the lead.

A caution for debris moments later meant Dillon was able to restart in the top position instead of getting passed back by Larson. Because Larson had to start on the inside line - a disadvantage - Dillon was able to briefly get away.

Larson was never able to catch up, though the two raced side-by-side for several laps while battling for the lead.

*****

10:16 p.m. - Kyle Larson leads after the first segment of NASCAR's return to dirt.

Through 60 laps of the 150-lap Mudsummer Classic at Eldora Speedway, Larson appears to have the dominating truck so far.

Larson took the lead for the first time on lap 38. He'd started 13th - quite deep in the field for a short-track race - and quickly moved up to third within 30 laps. Then he zoomed around race leader Timothy Peters on the outside and took off into the Ohio night.

Earlier, Peters, who had hardly any dirt experience, passed veteran Ken Schrader, who became the oldest driver to start on the pole in NASCAR history.

The first caution flag didn't fly until lap 55 - an unexpected result considering many drivers in the field had little to no previous dirt experience. Austin Dillon took a piece of sheet metal off the car of "Dirtrax Dominator" Scott Bloomquist - a dirt racer with more than 500 wins who was surprisingly lapped - to bring out a debris caution.

*****

9:29 p.m. - After more than four decades away from the dirt, NASCAR is just moments away from returning to its roots. The first NASCAR dirt race since 1970 - the Mudsummer Classic - is a 150-lap event divided into three segments (60 laps, 50 laps, 40 laps). Ken Schrader is on the pole with Jared Landers on the outside of the front row. Then it's Timothy Peters, Kenny Wallace and Jeb Burton rounding out the top five, with Dave Blaney, Matt Crafton, Brendan Gaughan, James Buescher and Ryan Newman completing the top 10. Other drivers to watch include Kyle Larson (13th), Ty Dillon (15th), Austin Dillon (19th) and Scott Bloomquist (21st).

*****

9:02 p.m. - Norm Benning â?? Norm Benning! â?? earned the final spot for tonight's main event at Eldora in the last-chance qualifying race. Benning, one of NASCAR's biggest underdogs, somehow held off Clay Greenfield through a series of door-slams and side-by-side contact in the final laps.

The fans - and even some of the drivers on hand - erupted in cheers when Benning held off Greenfield at the finish line after both slammed into the wall. Benning will start 30th out of 30 drivers in the main event, which is 150 laps.

In addition to Benning, Brennan Newberry won the last-chance race and Jeff Babcock, Jason Bowles and Justin Jennings also made the race.

Up next is the Mudsummer Classic feature race. It's expected to go green at 9:49 p.m. ET.

*****

8:15 p.m. - The lineup for the last-chance race has been set. Though 25 of the 30 spots for tonight's feature race have now been filled through a series of five heat races, there are still five open spots for 10 drivers.

Here's how they'll roll off for the 15-lap event (expected to begin at approximately 8:45 p.m. ET; top five advance):

1. J.R. Heffner

2. Jeff Babcock

3. Jason Bowles

4. Brennan Newberry

5. Justin Jennings

6. Jimmy Weller III

7. Norm Benning

8. Clay Greenfield

9. Joe Cobb

10. Bryan Silas

*****

8 p.m. - Jeb Burton held off Sprint Cup Series driver Ryan Newman to win the fifth heat race, but he had some help. Newman attempted a major slide job on Burton, but instead slid all the way up into the wall and allowed Burton to get away. Meanwhile, Johnny Sauter and Ty Dillon bumped on the final lap. Sauter wasn't happy with Dillon and suggested he might get him back down the road. "It's whatever, dude," Sauter said. Newman transferred to the main event, but Justin Jennings and Bryan Silas did not.

*****

7:48 p.m. - Kenny Wallace, with his extensive dirt experience, led every lap in the fourth heat to take the victory and earn a top-five starting spot for tonight's feature race. James Buescher was second, followed by Max Gresham â?? who locked himself in. Austin Dillon was fourth. Brennan Newberry and Joe Cobb were bumped to the last-chance qualifier race and are not guaranteed a starting spot for the main event.

*****

7:33 p.m. - Kyle Larson started fifth in the third heat race and put on a highly entertaining show in gaining a transfer spot to the feature race. Timothy Peters and Brendan Gaughan finished 1-2, but it was Larson's aggressive moves to get by Jason Bowles and finish third that caught the most eyes in Heat 3. He twice tried a slide job - the first one didn't work, but the second one did - and relegated Bowles to the last-chance race along with Clay Greenfield.

*****

7:21 p.m. - Dirt racer Jared Landers won the second heat race and locked himself into the main event, holding off Matt Crafton at the finish. Darrell Wallace Jr., who has no dirt experience, had been chasing Landers down with three laps to go until he lost control of his truck and spun out. On the restart, Matt Crafton chose the low line and ended up taking the lead ahead of Landers, but Landers got the advantage back and won the heat. Jeff Babcock and Norm Benning were relegated to the last-chance qualifying race.

*****

7:06 p.m. - Ken Schrader holds off a charging J.R. Heffner to win the first heat race and lock himself into tonight's feature race. Dave Blaney was third, followed by Joey Coulter, Tracy Hines, Jimmy Weller and Scott Bloomquist. Weller and Heffner aren't locked in and have to try to make the main event through the last-chance qualifying race.

*****

6:49 p.m. - The heat races start at 7 p.m. Each race has one spot available for the 15 drivers who didn't show up at Eldora with a locked-in position for the main event.

For those who don't make it via the heat races, there's a last-chance qualifying race at 8:45 p.m. with five more spots available.

*****

6:36 p.m. - NASCAR just handed out the lineups for tonight's five heat races. Here's a quick preview of the eight-lap qualifying races:

Heat No. 1 is absolutely stacked with some of dirt-racing's top names. It includes Ken Schrader, Tracy Hines, Dave Blaney and the "Dirtrax Dominator," Scott Bloomquist. All of those drivers are locked in except for Schrader.

Heat No. 2 isn't as tough of a lineup. Dirt racer Jared Landers will be the favorite and Truck regulars Matt Crafton and Darrell Wallace Jr. might be able to make an impact, too.

Heat No. 3 has Kyle Larson, but he's starting fifth thanks to a slow qualifying lap. Can he come up through the pack? Ron Hornaday and Ryan Blaney start behind him.

Heat No. 4 has two of the drivers who have had the most trouble so far in practice: John Wes Townley and Max Gresham. But it also has Kenny Wallace and Austin Dillon, who are two of the favorites.

Heat No. 5 features Cup driver Ryan Newman, who hasn't made much noise so far, and Ty Dillon. Jeb Burton and Johnny Sauter are among the other drivers in the heat.

*****

6 p.m. - Ken Schrader just become the oldest pole-winner in NASCAR history, but he might not even start tonight's race on the front row.

Wait, what?

Yeah, qualifying is a little different here. The just-completed qualifying session (you know, two laps around the track) resulted in Schrader, 58, recording the fastest speed (91.329 mph). Therefore, he's technically the pole-winner.

But qualifying only sets the lineup for a series of five heat races (which begin at 7 p.m. ET on Speed). Those heat races â?? not the qualifying session â?? will set both the starting field and starting order for the main event at the Mudsummer Classic.

So it's entirely possible that Schrader might not start first for tonight's race. Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants?

*****

1 p.m. - P1 in final practice goes to Darrell Wallace Jr. To show you how much the track slowed down as the session went on, Wallace's last lap was only 81.1 mph (8.7 mph less than his fastest lap), and most of the field was only in the high 70s! This race might look very slow on TV tonight, but will that make for closer competition?

*****

11:45 a.m. - Darrell Wallace Jr., a rookie with no dirt experience who spun a couple times in Tuesday's practice sessions, was the first driver out for final Truck practice and recorded the fastest lap of anyone. When the track is fresh, it provides way more grip - so Wallace was able to record a lap of 89.820 mph. That's pretty slow for NASCAR standards (and even Eldora standards), but the drivers are basically tip-toeing around the track with their heavy, clumsy trucks - vehicles that weren't meant to race on dirt.

*****

11:30 a.m. - Few NASCAR Truck races ever get this kind of coverage or buzz, but there are 130 credentialed media members for tonight's Mudsummer Classic. I'm lucky to be one of them - I've had this race marked on my calendar since it was announced last November. Getting to Eldora has a definite Field of Dreams vibe; after leaving the highway, you travel through cornfields and small towns with 25 mph speed limits until Eldora suddenly pops up, surrounded by campers here for the race. There's definitely a good vibe here for tonight's race.